Obama joins Twitter. Racism quickly follows.

[babylonsister]

My heart hurts; I'm disgusted I have to share this country with these people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/05/19/obama-joins-twitter-racism-quickly-follows/

Obama joins Twitter. Racism quickly follows.
By Jonathan Capehart May 19 at 10:42 AM



There are moments when I come thisclose to quitting Twitter. The amount of hatred squeezed into 140 characters or less by lunatics usually cloaked in anonymity is enough to make you question your support for the First Amendment and your faith in the decency of other people. To the uninitiated, the torrent of bigotry can leave you feeling violated. Even the most seasoned, battle-scarred, seen-it-all, can’t-nuthin’-shock-me individual will be left O-o by the filth in his or her Twitter feed.

snip//

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

The first racist tweet appears to have come in at 11:48 a.m. from a particularly nasty fellow who addresses the president as the N-word and advises him to “get cancer.” The racist affront is the equivalent of being called the N-word by a coward in a passing car as you’re walking down the street.

If you follow me on the beast that is Twitter, you have seen me do battle with racists, homophobes and the willfully uninformed and ignorant. I strongly believe those folks need to be exposed for sunlight is the best disinfectant, as the saying goes. And I strongly believe those folks need to endure the public censure and ridicule that comes with being revealed as a hate-filled bigot. It is then that whatever sliver of hope I have in humanity is restored.

No doubt, Obama was neither shocked nor surprised by the racist reception he received. After all, this is a man who has endured six years of gasp-worthy sleights. But I wonder whether deep down on some level the president wasn’t disappointed. It wouldn’t make him naive. It would make him human.

[Sanity Claws]

1. What happened to Obama is so ugly

Washington Post's lack of good editors shows. The word is slights, not sleights.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Yup. The shorter word means insult, the longer word means skillful and adept.

Simple "slight" for simple minds, insults.

More complex "sleight" represents complex moves.

[Android3.14]

43. I love language, and I love it when I learn something new

Thanks!

[ann---]

2. Why would he join such a horrible network?

I HATE Twitter and wouldn't waste my time there.

[Sobax]

4. Politicians and Twitter don't mix

And Presidents, of all people, should be above Twitter.

[ann---]

6. Everybody and Twitter don't mix

It's for exhibitionists only - as is Facebook. Can't understand
the need to be on display all the time.

[Sobax]

8. True

I don't know why most people imagine their lives are so interesting that anybody would want to follow them on Twitter.

[Omar4Dems]

9. Twitter is excellent for man-on-the-street, on-the-spot news reporting

For everyday stuff, not so much.

[Plucketeer]

32. I've never joined Twitter

and I'm smarter for it. Neither would I wade into a pool of feces in hopes I'd find a fleck of gold here and there. T'ain't worth it.

[Stellar]

16. He probably thought of it as just another form of social media that he could tap into...

He wondered if social networking, with its tremendous communication capabilities and aggressive database development, might help him beat the overwhelming odds facing him.

“It was like a guy in a garage who was thinking of taking on the biggest names in the business,” Mr. Andreessen recalled. “What he was doing shouldn’t have been possible, but we see a lot of that out here and then something clicks. He was clearly supersmart and very entrepreneurial, a person who saw the world and the status quo as malleable.”

And as it turned out, President-elect Barack Obama was right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10carr.html

How things have changed in 7 years. It turns out that in this day and age 'twitter' is just a faster was for bullys to bully.

[calimary]

36. Welcome to DU, Sobax!

Glad you're here! Maybe he just wants to reach out to where the tweeters are. I applaud him for being willing to take all the shit and STILL somehow being graceful about it. He has more class in the cuticle of one pinkie fingernail than can be found in the entire wrong wing. He makes me proud to be an American. They make me ashamed to be an American.

[Sobax]

38. Thanks, glad I'm here too

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

25. I felt the same way you did

Follow the right people and it's a handy tool

[Lisa D]

5. Sunlight is the best disinfectant

for racists and bigots.

[ann---]

7. Except Twitter is anonymous

isn't it? One doesn't have to tweet using their real name.
I hate it.

[Lisa D]

12. This is true.

I doubt the racist posters will change. But others, young people raised in conservative households, or those who don't experience that kind of ugliness in their own lives, may become enlightened and realize how much the world still needs to change. That's my hope, anyway.

[Omar4Dems]

14. The "Rope" graphic accompanying the tweet crosses the line

I figure the FBI and/or Secret Service will be investigating that.

[calimary]

37. Welcome to DU, Omar4Dems!

Good to have you with us! I hope so, too. That's a threat against his life. I hope they do, but the Secret Service has been such a Gang-That-Couldn't-Shoot-Straight anymore that I wonder if it would even help all that much. I suspect The Crazy will continue, and build, as another year goes by and they realize he's still in the Oval Office - where he belongs. All this is - is acting out. Tantrum-throwing by a crowd of spoiled, snot-nosed adult-size five-year-olds - who tend to act out and throw temper tantrums when they don't get their way.

I remember when the bush/cheney people stole their way into office and The dick was heard to say - "the adults are back in charge." "Adults" My ASS.

[seabeyond]

10. i gotta say the obvious all. once again, economic security does not ensure or suggest even a trickle

to the social justice. UNLESS we address and then, we have an opportunity for progression.

never stay silent.

[Omar4Dems]

11. "Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account."

Wow, he has some really strict parents.

[shenmue]

18. I see what you did there

[fredamae]

13. Disgusting and Unnecessary.... n/t

[HipChick]

15. What a hateful,racist place we live in

Fucking disgusting..

[KamaAina]

17. Is Agent Mike on Twitter, too?

[annabanana]

20. most assuredly . . . . .n/t

[DinahMoeHum]

31. Yes, Mr. Hunt is probably tracking down those twits. . .

. . .with the racist tweets even as we speak.

Hope those assholes realize that prospective employers and business clients check them out
as well.

[KamaAina]

33. I never knew his last name was Hunt!

[lovemydog]

19. My heart hurts.

I pray that we move beyond it.

[kelliekat44]

21. Remember, he is a black man in America. Nothing about racism will surprise him. It might be hurtful

but I am sure he can take it.

[KamaAina]

22. I'll bet it surprised him when he came up to the mainland

from Hawai'i. Race relations work entirely differently out there. Quite a bit of what racism there is is directed at haoles -- white people!

[Snotcicles]

23. I got a taste of that in 1960/61. We lived in Hilo then. nt

[Hekate]

40. Just today a new DUer called Obama a "half black president" so I informed the newby that.....

....back home he would have been called hapa-haole, and not as a slur. Although you and I know it's more complex than that -- still, I thought "Crap, even here at DU."

[KamaAina]

45. One hopes that by now that is an ex-DUer

He's pining for the fjords!

[jtuck004]

24. "those folks need to endure the public censure " Like a pizza shop owner made wealthy via bigotry.

Yeah, I'm sure people want to get out the stocks and pillory anybody who says anything about him or anyone else.

Would you be surprised if they applaud instead?

[cilla4progress]

26. Whaddya mean?

There's no racism. People voted for him.



Why doesn't he retweet the racist remark with his own sarcastic response? ...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

27. Now watch the Right claim this is fine because Palin gets insulted too.

[cwydro]

28. A DUer that I'm friends with on facebook

posted this earlier.

I actually didn't believe it was true. He assured me it was.

I really have no words.

[asiliveandbreathe]

29. Perhaps, before the President leaves office he will

speak again, to the problem our country faces - still - that being race..not that a twitter account is a test - we all know it exists..

The following is a transcript of the remarks of Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, delivered March 18, 2008, in Philadelphia at the Constitution Center. In it, Obama addresses the role race has played in the presidential campaign.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88478467

The bigots and racists are like cockroaches - hiding behind the cabinets - anonymous - (no intended offense to Anonymous)..

[heaven05]

30. I bet he's proving

things to people....doesn't have to convince me. Racism has been out in the open since 24 hours after his FIRST election. Nothing about a huge chunk of this society's citizens will EVER surprise me again. NEVER. Just a sick, sick, hatefully sick culture.

[DinahMoeHum]

34. The tweets say more about the twits/tw&ts who tweet this twaddle. . .

. . .than they do about Obama.

Say that several times fast!!

[SpankMe]

35. Maybe this is a good thing.

We now have yet another source of reprehensible material from conservatives to use in the campaign to sully their motives, reputation and demeanor. This will be a primary go-to spot for items that can be used in advertising and social outreach. We can use it to turn the public against conservatives by showing just how fucked up some conservatives are.

[Cha]

39. Yes, there's always going to be stupid, insecure, racists waving their shite around but, Pres Obama

The HillVerified account
‏@thehill .@POTUS sets Guinness World Record after reaching 1 million Twitter followers in five hours: http://hill.cm/YxneEK1

[Egnever]

41. Wow

Not unexpected but still wow!

[Cha]

42. I know, huh? Another record! lol

[INdemo]

44. You know I still find it very difficult to understand that

We still witness the actions of these narrow minded racists here in 2015 as we did in the 60's.
The sad part is it may be hidden in other places like schools under a light cover and that is sad
I had a Twitter act for about 4 hrs and closed it